A Change of Mind
by drwhofangirl591
Summary: Maybe the Doctor's tasteless coat isn't so bad.


"Just this once couldn't you wear something besides that stupid coat?"

The Doctor ignored Peri's criticism as he danced around the console checking the progress of their flight.

"You have an entire wardrobe of clothing to choose from surely you can find something that's less…" Peri gestured vaguely at him searching for the right word. "Tasteless."

"There is nothing wrong with my coat Peri. I happen to think it's quite striking." He gave each cuff an affirming tug.

"And all this time I thought you were only wearing it to spite me. I didn't think you were really attached to it."

"Hmm shows what you know."

The central column came to a halt as the Tardis landed. "Here we are, Metanoia IV." He cast a curious glance in Peri's direction, "Are you certain that's what _you_ want to wear?"

"Well I was until now." She was dressed in a pair of her usual high-waisted shorts and a button down that was knotted at her mid drift. "This isn't going to be another ordeal like Necros is it? What cultural offense am I committing in this?"

"No, no. Noting like that. Come on we've wasted enough time already." The Doctor opened the doors and strolled out.

Peri followed him slightly worried about what she was going to encounter outside the Tardis after his comment. As she stepped through the door she was greeted by a warm summer breeze and the scent of wildflowers. Shielding her eyes from the bright afternoon sun Peri peered out at their surroundings pleasantly surprised.

They were perched atop a hill overlooking a sea of tents in wide field. If not for the auburn grass and light pink sky she would have thought they were on Earth.

Together they began making their way down towards the center of activity below. "What are you in such a hurry to see Doctor?"

He held out a hand to help her negotiate a particularly uneven section of ground.

"Once a year this area becomes home to this star system's largest flea market. As you can see the tents span for miles. Vendors from all across the galaxy gather selling just about anything you can think of. There's one vendor in particular I'm hoping to find. He deals in rare and difficult to find parts."

"Sounds great but aren't you forgetting something? You never carry any money."

"Fortunately bartering is an acceptable form of exchange."

She dropped his hand as a horrible thought occurred to her. "Wait a minute! Is that why you made that comment about how I was dressed? Were you worried that people might mistake me for a commodity?

"Peri these are civilized people. Those sorts of practices have been outlawed in this system for centuries."

"Well it wouldn't be the first time I've been mistaken for a bargaining chip," Peri grumbled.

The Doctor turned and gave her a reproachful look as they reached the paved road leading into marketplace. "_That_ was an unfortunate misunderstanding."

Entering the throng of shoppers the Doctor and Peri wandered through the aisles of merchants stopping occasionally to browse through their wares. Peri, while intrigued by many of the things she saw was more than happy just to be out in the fresh air soaking up some much needed sun.

They'd spent a good two hours searching for the Doctor's specific vendor. Several times he stopped to ask if anyone knew where this person had set up shop and received a variety of answers ranging from useless to confusing.

As Peri waited for the Doctor to get clarification on his latest guide's directions the light breeze that had delighted her earlier suddenly felt harsh giving her an unexpected chill. The Doctor returned wearing a triumphant grin, "Our elusive friend is three rows over and sat at the end of the aisle. Keep up Peri; one can easily get lost in this mob."

"I don't think anyone could lose track of you in that get up." She jogged after him until she was able to match his stride. "I bet one of these merchants has overcoats, are you sure you don't want to look for a different one while we're here?"

"I'm perfectly satisfied with this one thank you." He picked up his pace forcing Peri to work a bit harder to stay in step with him.

As they walked along she noticed that the breeze was steadily growing stronger and the temperature rapidly dropping. Peri glanced toward the sky. The sun was still high overhead, a few clouds had gathered but they didn't appear threatening.

Even with directions it still took them almost twenty minutes to reach their destination. The aisles were six car lanes wide in order to accommodate small personal vehicles and the massive crowd which had doubled since they had arrived, making maneuvering through and against the flow of traffic more difficult than either of them imagined.

The Doctor eagerly introduced himself to the man behind the tables when they finally found the place. He explained what he was after while Peri found a spot outside the stall to wait. Another biting gust of wind whipped through the marketplace, the light fluffy clouds had turned a sickening shade of grey and started to blot out the sun. She wrapped her arms around herself trying to keep warm as she observed the people around her. Almost everyone appeared to have come prepared for such a drastic change of weather. She watched as customers and merchants alike began piling on extra layers, retrieving jackets and gloves from their bags. It was clear that they all seemed to know something that she didn't.

Within only a few minutes she found herself jogging in place and breathing into hands trying to keep the circulation going in her extremities. Fed up with waiting Peri ran back to the Doctor who was busy riffling through a pile of gadgets.

"Doctor what is going on with this place? It felt like the middle of summer when we arrived, now it's suddenly freezing!"

"Eh?" The Time Lord tore his attention away from the junk. "Yes it is becoming a bit brisk, but it's by no means freezing."

He went back to hunting for a replacement whatchamacallit for some component he was attempting to repair in the Tardis. Peri tended to tune out his technobabble if it didn't pertain to a life or death situation.

"Easy for you to say, you're not the one wearing shorts."

"Metanoia IV has a unique climate," he replied still browsing through parts. "Every few hours the weather rapidly fluctuates between seasons –Aha! Look at this Peri!"

"The weather does what!?" she exclaimed ignoring whatever he was trying to show her.

The Doctor didn't answer; too preoccupied with haggling over a fair price for what his latest find plus the part he'd originally been looking which the man had managed to procure from elsewhere in his stock. She watched as he pulled a number of random objects from his pockets and carefully considered which of them he could bear to part with. Eventually they settled on a few pieces of semi-precious metal he'd pickup during another of their adventures and a small bag of jelly babies.

"Why didn't you tell me about the weather?" she asked angrily as they left the vendor's stall and reentered the crowd.

Before he could reply another gust swept over them this time bringing a downpour of sleet and rain. The Doctor quickly assessed their options for shelter and noticed a vacant tent just a head of them. It wouldn't be any warmer but at least it would be dry. He grabbed Peri's hand and dragged her under the awning, dodging other patrons who were scrambling out of the rain or hurriedly pulling out umbrellas and continuing on their way unfazed.

"I thought we would be on our way back to the Tardis before the weather shifted, the warmer periods tend to last longer than the cold but it's still exceedingly unpredictable."

Peri scowled at him. "No kidding."

They stood silently on either side of the tent's doorway watching the crowd thin as the rain continued to fall. Peri had rolled down the sleeves of her shirt trying to give her arms a little more protection but the lightweight cotton was not made for retaining heat. Shivering from head to toe she glared over at the Doctor who was inspecting one of his recent purchases, completely unaffected by the weather in that hideous coat of his. Fashionable or not it was clearly warmer than what she had on.

She made up her mind. Marching up to him Peri threw open one side of his coat, ducked inside of it and wrapped herself in as much of the multicolored material as she could.

It had happened so fast so the Doctor could only stand there looking utterly bewildered as his companion snuggled inside of his coat. Once the initial shock wore off, a haughty smirk spread across his face, "Change your mind about my 'tasteless' coat Peri?"

"Shut up. I'm just trying to get warm. Since you didn't bother suggesting I bring my own you're going to have to share." 

The Doctor nimbly slid his arm out of the sleeve and slid it around her shoulders give her more room beside him. Between the coat's heavy fabric and the Doctor it didn't take long for Peri to feel better. She would never admit it out loud but maybe this stupid coat wasn't so bad after all.


End file.
